yeah i considered going somewhere with better health care--problem is i cant take my doctors with me--- these doctors here are the only ones that can help me considering that this is a rare case and they never saw it before and have already done the leg work. besides i wouldnt trade my doctors for the world--they are more my family than doctors at this point

CRANIAL SACRAL THERAPY, essential oils fit for you, and hot cold compresses, practicing relaxation techniques. trust me people i have the worst case and it is a serious solution. get a pen write it down look it up. Chose your doc carefully its very delicate, years of exxperiience to master the touch. CRANIAL SACRAL THERAPY

If you find yourself with TMJ disfunction do not let a dentist talk you into expensive braces and bite splints. They do not work. $30,000 later and I am worse off.

I have TMJ and have had it for many years, especially when I was young. I had no pain for many years. The clicking and popping even went away. Last month I noticed when I moved my jaw open and closed it sounded squishy. Then it locked. It hurt bad and locked many times over two weeks. I have been wearing a night plate which is clear plastic that fits over my upper teeth. When I grit the plate protects my joint. I have insurance and I had to pay $295 out of my pocket. I don't know how much my insurance paid. Now I am on Naproxen 500 mg twice daily and am taking a muscle relaxer at night. Seems I popped the cushion out. I start therapy next week to work other muscles to help put it back into place. No more chewing gum, no more chewing ice, no more eating popcorn kernels, my favorite. I am now 51 years old. The pain is worse at night and it feels like there is something in my ear, but the doctor told me it was because it is inflamed and hitting the nerves. I am getting some relief. The bite plate is great.

Judy

I too have been suffering from TMJ for some time now. It started when I went to the dentist to replace a few filling. I guess he did too much work at once, which had my jaw open for a very prolonged period of time. I don't have the popping that others speak of, but I do have the PAIN. I am currently taking a Organic Inflammation Modulation called Zyflamend. Excellent Pain Reliver! Anyway, a co-worker has been suffering for over 20 years. She has had her jaw broken, jaw surgery, braces, massages, heat, cold, and everything else but the kitchen sick. She finally found relief by a chance visit, for something totally different, to a Chiropractor! Yep, a Chiropractor. She has been skipping around every since. I too am seeing a Chiropractor, but I have not had the excellent results she has. My pain is more localized now, but it's still there. Maybe a Chiro will work for you, especially if everything else has failed. Oh, I have two other friends that have gone to one, and they are now pain free too. Maybe I'm just not seeing the right guy!

Most people get their wisdom teeth out by the time they are in their 20's.. I'm afraid this isn't the answer for most people who have TMJ, it certainly wasn't for me.

I messed up my jaw by chewing on a pop bottle cap when i was 17. Ever since then I've had painful and uncontrollable jaw movements where i can feel my teeth moving. The wisdom teeth was the first step which dramatically reduced my symptoms. After several more visits to my dentist, he gave up and marked me off as TMJ and referred me to a specialist who's services I could not afford. I started smoking weed. Problem solved. Probably due to the nearly complete absence of daily stress and anxiety. Anyway I quit that and one month later Massive pain once again. Will I ever get relief?

my fiance has the same problem you guys are talking about.this started a couple of months back and with time his problem is increasing.though its not a regular occurance but it keeps bothering him in every two months.he has already consulted with the doctors but they donot consider it as fatal .i went through the problems and i think that the problem is becoming endemic with time.

I found this while searching for a comfortable mouth guard. I have no insurance to cover the cost. It's only $80 shipping.

I don't even know the exact age my TMJ started at, but I was diagnosed at 9. I am now 23 and suffer every day with this. I had braces when I was 12 and my TMJ worsened severely!!! I've used heat/cold therapy, pain meds, night guards were awful, and massage therapy. Massage therapy was the most effective, but very costly. Since I have been off my parents insurance, I cannot afford massage therapy. Nothing seems to help. I also suffer from depression, so the constant pain makes it all the worse and vice versa. Can anyone give me any suggestions?

I am suffering along with you all. I just recently had 2 onlays put in instead of a crown. However now my night guard doesn't fit right. I can't tell if I'm having serious pain because of that or if I have a root canal under the onlays. All I know is this pain is unbearable. If you have had onlays and have tmj and had any bad reactions please let me know. Also, should I keep wearing my previous night guard or stop? I stopped for a while but now...I'm wearing it again.

SO many things you can do, so don't give up hope!! I too suffer from this painful problem. I find alot of things helpful, for one work on your day to day posture. Try sleeping on your back if at all possible.I work with a massage therapist who taught me an awesome trick that really relieves my pain for a good while! I was so thrilled to find this becuase anyone who has tmj knows the constant pain and trouble we deal with! anyways either have someone put on gloves to help you or you can do this to yourself. Reach inside your mouth and use your thumb to press straight back(between your two jaw bones) into that pressure point. This automatically relieves pressure in the tmj joint.I was apprehensive to let her, lol, but they have to practice this on each other in massage therapy school, so i trusted her enough to let her in the mouth area! Try to chew as little as possible(no gum!, no steak, take it easy! the joint cant handle that pressure!), the worst part of tmj for me is not being able to sing my heart out, extending my jaw is painful! Ughhh the struggle, until we can find a cure, we can stick toghether to help one another.stay strong and dont give up okay! You are here for a reason, don't let anything convince you otherwise!!

astarr,

Can you describe that maneuver a little more, please?
If I stick my thumb in my mouth and push straight back, are we not talking about going down the throat?
do you mean push up on the roof of the mouth?

I too, have been suffering with this for over a year now. Last May 2008 had a MRI done on my neck and found that I have a couple of degenerative discs..then shortly after started having an occasionals popping in the jaw when eating. Over the year this has progressively became worse with pain and now the locking of my jaw. What I am told now is no more gum, steak or any food which causes over work on the jaw. I'm truely depressed with no sure cure. I don't know what to do.

Chamberlainrep

Have you done anything to replace your degenerative discs? I was just wondering what your TMJ doctor has recommended. In 2001, after 10 years without any TMJ problems, I started experiencing trouble again in my joints and came to find out that they were arthritic. My physician removed cartlidge from my ear and put in the joints. Within the year I had really bad bone resorption and had rib grafts done. Since that surgery it has been one problem after another and am now sitting in my bed recovering from the first of two surgeries needed for total joint replacements. I had a very good doctor up until 9 mo ago when he retired and have since seen a specialist at the Mayo Clinic for this proceedure (I wish I would have done this earlier). My point with all of this is only to express to you the value in being pro-active in maintaining your joints to the best of your ability. Spend the money and travel to a specialist. Avoid surgery if possible because everytime you have a surgery the chances of having another greatly increases but don't be afraid to have surgery if needed.

I wish you all the best.

Try going to a chiropractor and having your jaw adjusted
this really helps to relieve the pain.